The program that rescued Dawn is called Rescue Waggin’, a mission of mercy operated by PetSmart Charities, the nonprofit arm of the pet store chain.

Rescue Waggin’ sends teams out around the country to take homeless dogs from shelters with low adoption rates and deliver them to ones such as Boulder Valley Humane, where their chance of adoption is much higher.

Thousands of dogs have been saved in this manner — 50,000, in fact. Dog number 50,000 was Dawn, which accounts for the red carpet welcome with all the trimmings.

President Obama says football player Micheal Vick deserves a shot at redemption.

President Obama touched off a new round of debate in late December when, during a phone call with the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, Obama praised the team for giving a second chance to quarterback Michael Vick, who has risen to stardom in the National Football League 19 months after leaving prison for his role in a notorious dogfighting ring.

Bill Burton, a White House spokesman, told the Washington Post that Obama “of course condemns the crimes that Michael Vick was convicted of, but, as he’s said previously, he does think that individuals who have paid for their crimes should have an opportunity to contribute to society again.”

A number of people commenting in the blogosphere have backed the president, while critics have attacked Obama’s stance on Vick, who owned the notorious Bad Newz Kennels in Virginia, where under-performing pit bulls were drowned, clobbered with shovels or hung, among other methods.

Nurse Nancy sometimes gets a bit frazzled. You would be too if you tried to put a feline-size condom on a tomcat.

You know, there’s the sharp claws and teeth. The nurse might need a nurse by the time she’s done.

In real life, Nurse Nancy goes by the name of Amy Angelilli, and she’s the executive director of the Rocky Mountain Alley Cat Alliance, which operates The Feline Fix, a low-cost cat spaying and neutering clinic in Denver.

Angelilli appears in the comic role of the nurse in a series of online video clips. The tomcat condoms? They actually exist, but they’re just a humorous way of getting a serious message out.

The series of Nurse Nancy clips is now available via three social media outlets. The purpose is to spread the word about birth control for pets.

“We just felt that we needed something that was funny, but still got the point across that the only way to prevent unwanted pet pregnancies and help fight the pet overpopulation problem was through spaying and neutering,” says Angelilli.Read more…

The Denver Post regularly carries stories about infants being injured or killed by parents or other caregivers. There are probably dozens every year. So there should be Facebook pages for each of them with scores of members, right?

“We have seen a significant increase of that in Wyoming. It’s disturbing,” he told the reporter who wrote the story.

Poachers run down deer with cars or snowmobiles, and chase raccoons, then beat them to death with clubs. They also shoot deer, elk and antelope, sometimes removing valuable antlers but often leaving the carcass to rot on the ground, Talbott and other wildlife officials said.

The number of poachers ignoring wildlife laws is also on the rise across Colorado, according to the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Officers write about 2,150 tickets a year to hunters; 200 are for serious poaching crimes such as thrill-killing.

Cameron, an injured veteran, with his new “war buddy,” Harper, a service dog that is helping him heal.

* * *

Ian, a Humvee driver in Iraq, was doing his job for the military when an insurgent threw a grenade into the vehicle.

The 19-year-old tried to deflect the grenade but it fell inside. Another soldier threw his body on it to save his comrades and died instantly.

Ian suffered the worst injuries of the four survivors: traumatic brain injury, many shrapnel wounds and severe mobility problems.

When he returned to Fort Carson army base, Ian needed all the help he could get. A big part of that help came when he got Clark, a Freedom Service dog specially trained to brace and balance Ian, as well as help him with everyday activities.

Ian is now married with two children and a good job.

“I feel like I can do more of the things I did before I was injured,” he said in an article in the current newsletter of Freedom Service Dogs, Inc.

The Englewood-based organization is trying to help other veterans with severe injuries like Ian’s, but the going has been hard. This was a tough year for nonprofits and 2010 might be no better, says Sharan Wilson, executive director of Freedom Service Dogs.

“We have a dozen veterans on our waiting list,” Wilson said. ‘We’d have more but the military knows we have a shortage of resources.”

It takes about $25,000 and most of a year to train one dog. And Freedom Service Dogs also has nearly 30 other non-military people on its waiting list.

The program for veterans is called Be a Hero to a Hero. Wilson said it works with the Warriors in Transition Battalion at Fort Carson.

“The Battalion is for military people coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan who have severe mental or physical illness problems,” she said. “They are too injured to serve and aren’t ready to return to private life. They spend six months to two years getting healed.”

The battalion at Fort Carson has 600 members and is the largest of five in the country, Wilson said.

Freedom Service dogs are found at shelters. They often have health problems, she said, so the first step is to get them healthy.

Then they go through basic obedience training by members of Pawsitive Connection, a program for at-risk kids, or members of Warriors in Transition.

After that, Freedom Service’s three professional trainers take over, teaching dogs the specific skills it will need for specific veterans.

Along the way volunteers help socialize the dogs, occasionally taking them home for overnight stays. Volunteers and dogs in training have a legal right to go anywhere, since that is what the animals must do once they are placed, Wilson said.

When the process is finished the dog will have transformed from a homeless mutt to a life partner that can do tasks such as helping find necessities, helping navigate crowds or providing emotional support for veterans who have lived through the horrors of war.

“In Iraq everyone has a battle buddy,” said another returned soldier, Cameron. “Now that I’m home, (my dog) Harper is my battle buddy.”

An article on SmartPlanet.com raises a most interesting question: Are animals making us sick?

A better question might be: Are humans and other animals making each other sick?

A new organization called the One Health Commission, is looking for the answers.

One Health was established in response to the increased threat of disease passed between people and animals. The commission recently held its first summit in Washington.

It’s creation comes at a time when the crossing of disease between humans and other animals is in the news. Earlier this month, the first human transmission of H1N1, the swine flu, to a cat was reported in Iowa. More recently, the first confirmed death of a cat from
human-contracted H1N1 was reported in Oregon.

Following the recent One Health Summit, Mahr – former president of the American Veterinary Medical Association – was interviewed by Melanie Kaplan of Smartplanet.com, a site that explores new ideas.

Here are some of Mahr’s comments:

On the need for One Health:

“There’s a need to look more closely at human-animal-ecosystem health. Over the last three decades, of all the emerging human diseases in the world, 75 percent are zoonotic — transmitted from animals to people — including HIV, avian influenza, monkey pox and West Nile virus. …

“Those diseases and the changing environment have created an increasing concern because of the movement of people throughout the world. Viruses can pass around the world before they’ve even completed their incubation stage.”

On the growing proximity of humans and other animals:

“The environment of bringing animals and people together more has increased — more than 70 percent of households in the U.S. have companion animals such as dogs, cats, birds, or guinea pigs. There’s the potential for transmission between humans and animals, such as
internal parasites, worms, infections from external parasites (fleas, ticks) and fungal types of infections.”

On the lessons of H1N1:

“H1N1…is spreading from people to people, but it’s also been reported to have spread from people to ferrets, people to turkeys, people to pigs and most recently, people to cats….

“The goal of One Health is to work together to prevent the next H1N1 or the next avian influenza, and this can likely be achieved through detecting the disease at the onset, prior to it being transferred from animal to animal or animal to people. This is why
it’s so important to address One Health on a worldwide basis, among people, animals and the ecosystem. It’s all-encompassing.”

Piccoli. who has worked in private practice and for the Dumb Friends League and Table Mountain Animal shelter, said her goal is to reduce the number of unwanted animals that wind up in shelters.

“I realized that we’ll never get the homeless pet population down until we do more spays and neuters,” she said.

Piccoli said her long-term goal is to be self-sustaining – it now gets grants – and able to care for more pets of low-income owners. It handles a limited number now.

The clinic handles dogs, cats and rabbits and did 2,200 surgeries its first year.

Piccoli is assisted by a veterinary technician and volunteers.

Even though her clinic is low-cost, Piccoli said she does not feel she is competing with for-profit clinics.

“The vast majority of people coming here would not otherwise see a veterinarian,” she said.

SpayToday does surgeries on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Piccoli said the clinic prefers reservations but can handle a limited number of walk-ins who show up during surgery intake hours, 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.

Spay Today, located at 1804 South Wadsworth Unit 2, can be reached at www.spay2day.org, or 303 984-7729.

Books for beasties - When customers of Tattered Cover book stores designate the Dumb Friends League as their nonprofit of choice, 1 percent of every purchase will be donated to the League. To sign up for the program, call (303) 322-1965, Ext. 2734. You’ll
receive a membership card in the mail along with an instant reward coupon, good for 10 percent off your next purchase of $25 or more.

Memory tree - Show of Hands gallery iin Cherry Creek North is putting up a Memory Tree, and for an $8 donation, you can purchase an ornament in memory of, or in honor of, a pet who has passed away. You’ll be able to write on and decorate the ornament, or attach a photo. All donations will go to the GRRR Golden Angel Fund. If you’re not in the Denver area, you can purchase the ornaments at www.goldenrescue.com.

Travel and Fitness Editor Kyle Wagner grew up in Pittsburgh and lived in Lake County, Ill., and Naples, Fla., before moving to Denver in 1993, where she reviewed restaurants for Westword before moving to The Denver Post in 2002. She considers the best days to be those that involve her teenage daughters and doing something outside, preferably mountain biking or whitewater rafting.

The pursuit of a healthier state through better living. The Denver Post's ColoradoFit blog features local experts on the latest fitness trends, active lifestyles and nutrition options in Colorado and beyond.